Azteca conquered: ten-man England outlast Mexico in a Round of 16 classic

England became the first team ever to beat Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, winning a wild Round of 16 tie 3-2 despite playing more than half the game with ten men. Jude Bellingham struck twice inside two first-half minutes and Harry Kane settled it from the spot, after Jarell Quansah's red card and a Raúl Jiménez leveller had Mexico roaring. England go on to meet Norway in the quarter-finals.

In more than ninety years, no visiting team had ever beaten Mexico at the Estadio Azteca. The great old cathedral of world football had held firm through every era, every giant, every World Cup. England ended all of it in one wild night, winning a breathless Round of 16 tie 3-2 with ten men to reach the quarter-finals and rewrite the history books.

For half an hour it looked serene. Jude Bellingham tore the game open with two goals in barely ninety seconds, a sharp finish on thirty-six minutes and a thumping strike on thirty-eight, and England led 2-0 in a silenced Azteca. On this form he was untouchable, the outstanding player on the pitch.

Mexico have never gone quietly on home soil. Julián Quiñones pulled one back before the break to make it 2-1, and then the game turned on its head. On fifty-four minutes Jarell Quansah was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge, and suddenly England had more than half an hour to survive a man short in the most hostile arena in the sport.

Javier Aguirre's side smelled blood. They threw everything forward, and on sixty-nine minutes they got their reward, Raúl Jiménez drilling home a penalty to make it 2-2 and send the Azteca into raptures. A famous Mexican comeback, on the biggest stage of all, was there for the taking.

Then, against the run of play and against the odds, the ten men landed the knockout blow. On eighty minutes England won a penalty of their own, and up stepped Harry Kane, ice-cold as ever, to send the keeper the wrong way and restore the lead at 3-2. It was Kane's sixth goal of the tournament, one behind the leading trio in the Golden Boot race.

The final ten minutes were a siege. Mexico finished with sixty-six percent of the ball, twenty-three shots to England's six and twelve corners to two, and still they could not force extra time. Thomas Tuchel's men defended for their lives, hurling bodies in the way of everything, and clung on. For Mexico and their home World Cup, it is a heartbreak that will sting for years.

For Kenya and every neutral, this was a knockout tie with everything: history, red cards, penalties and nerve. England now fly to Miami to face Erling Haaland and the Norway side that dumped Brazil out, a quarter-final of genuine heavyweight menace. Azteca ilikuwa ngome ambayo haijawahi kuanguka, lakini England wameivunja wakiwa na watu kumi tu: the Azteca was a fortress that had never fallen, but England have broken it with only ten men. Follow the road to the final on our bracket.